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Knocking a scope after adjusting ??

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cbm View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cbm Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Topic: Knocking a scope after adjusting ??
    Posted: January/03/2009 at 20:47
Kinda hit me to ask ! I have several friend's that swear by smacking/knocking a scope after you make adjustments. From holding the barrel and smacking the recoil pad on the ground a couple of times..............to hitting the turrets with your knuckles or tapping a screwdriver handle on them a few times after making a new adjustment !
 
Is there any truth behind this or is this just an old wivestale ??


Edited by cbm - January/03/2009 at 20:47
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helo18 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote helo18 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/03/2009 at 20:50
Tagged...
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Horsemany Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/03/2009 at 20:53
It's not a wives tale and is more important the poorer the scope.  I am a range officer and spot for shooters at my club for "sight-in days" 3 weekends leading up to deer season.  I help sight in 30 to 40 guns a day.  It certainly helps to tap sharply on the turrets after an adjustment and if your scope is built well enough not to need it, it wont hurt anyway.  Most decent scopes it's not necessary but I do it out of habit to everything.  It won't hurt anything.
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Mike McDonald View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Mike McDonald Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/03/2009 at 21:33
You're compensating for pooly machined internals and weak erector springs.
In days of old scope qualit at the best of times wasn't all that great, so when an adjustment was made, the scope was "tapped" to help the erector spring move the erector tube to it's new location.  In doing that you wouldn't lose the 1st  shot, and have the 2nd shot go to the new value.
 
Here's a good rule of thumb that works with any scope adjustment;  Always adjust into the erector spring.  This is decreasing elevation or applying left windage, which pushes the erector into the spring and removes adjusting screw backlash.
 
SO wait, you say you want to move right or up......which is away from or 'out of tension' adjustment.  So you need to move the scope UP 2 moa, or 8  1/4 inch clicks.  Move it 12, then adjust back down 4 clicks "into" the spring.  No more lost 1st shots.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Horsemany Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/03/2009 at 22:05
Great tip Mike!
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote lucytuma Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/04/2009 at 09:56

Great information Mike, I will remember this and put it to application, thanks.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote 8shots Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/05/2009 at 01:42
Agree about old school.... you can tell some-ones age when you watch him adjust a scope. All those over 50 will tap the scope!!! I still do it out of habit. I have lately started using Mike's method.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote jonoMT Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/05/2009 at 07:13
I have an old Bushnell 4X on a .22...dim, crappy glass, but it came with the rifle for free. I've never had to do any of that when switching it between 50 and 100 yard zeros. Yet my Leupolds have often shown that tendency to not settle in and now that I think about it, when I have adjusted 8 clicks and then thought, wait, I'll come back a couple, the scope would always shoot more where I'd expected. A friend with a low-end newer Bushnell would adjust the scope for elevation and have the windage come off 3-4 inches. I'd not only tap that scope, I'd give it a sledgehammering.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote trigger29 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January/05/2009 at 10:51
You should see the army boys smack their acogs after an adjustment. We're not just talking a little tap here. A good hard smack.

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